The National Wildlife Federation announced the winners of its 54th annual photo contest, with a photo of a female blue Arctic fox on Alaska's St. George Island winning the top prize.
The stunning lineup of images that "highlight the diversity and majesty of wildlife, plants, and landscapes from across the globe" was selected from nearly 30,000 submissions from more than 3,200 photographers across the United States and around the world, according to the magazine.
Editorial director of National Wildlife magazine Jennifer Wehunt, in a statement said, the winning selection present "astonishing glimpses of nature’s sheer strength, from an onrush of lava in Iceland to a shimmering burn set to contain a wildfire in Pennsylvania," and "surprises that defy the everyday: a night bus of nautical hitchhikers, a fox straight out of a fairy tale."
"That ability to amaze, that’s also the power of nature,” Wehunt continued.
National Wildlife said entries were received from across the world, and photographers who entered the contest ranged from "award-winning professionals to avid amateurs to young budding naturalists" who "help inspire people to care about wildlife and wild lands."
